Author Comments

**Quick Edit** No way. Thank you all so much! I've wanted Daily Top Five since I started animating, but I never imagined getting Daily 1st. This is an amazing honor. Thank you! **EDIT 2** Front page?! How did this happen?! Thank you so much!

So, a quick note about what this movie is and how it was made. Rest assured, it DOES belong here on Newgrounds. I filmed all the live action stuff and then animated everything on top of it. You can probably already tell, but any animation was done in Flash. The music was made by a friend of mine, Eno, to go with the movie (I owe him a big thank you for that). I'm sorry about the really long load time - it's a huge file, as I used a lot of live action footage in addition to the animation, and I couldn't bring myself to cut down on the animation quality. Also, if you like this, please check out my last two films, music videos that I wish got a bit more attention for all the work I put into them. Thank you all for your support, and I hope you enjoy my latest movie!

A quick explanation:
Since I'm graduating this year, I decided to put together a movie that would take people through my history as an animator, showing them the different styles and techniques I have used from my first flipbook to now, and hopefully to my future.

A little longer:
A started with post-it flipbooks, simple stuff like jumping and flipping.
I went on to scribbled color animations on index cards, usually transformations.
I briefly experimented with sketches on plain paper - the frame rate was slow and it looked pretty bad.
Finally, I ended up with flash, and computer animation.
One day, I'd like to make full, real movies. At this point it's just a dream, but here's hoping!

Reviews

Rated 1 / 5 stars2008-04-12 08:44:49

Devoid of talent.

Again another guy discovers that Newgrounds will vote anything to success if he simply places animation on video, despite this being incredibly easier (the kids think it's difficult though, as they haven't discovered the "import video" option just yet).

The character art was disproportional and almost childish. I recommend you pick up some cartooning books at the library.

The animation was pretty amateur. Stray from sticks, my friend. And study some physics.

Work on the coloring too.

And do more actual animation. Rely less on the video factor and more on the animation.
In fact, don't put video in your animations. It becomes a crutch.

Okay, a few quick things that I'd like to clear up, though you're certainly entitled to your opinion.

I did not "discover" this success method. In fact, I'm not a huge fan of the politics of newgrounds (rules like video game characters give you an automatic point boost, if you have an established series you're at an automatic advantage, etc.) I made this movie because I was looking for an idea, and this was what came to me. I'd also always wanted to experiment with live action and animation, and this seemed like a good opportunity. I really expected it to do much, much worse than my last two movies, which were pure animation.

I hope you're talking about the last portion of the movie for the "disproportional and almost childish" criticism, because for the index card portion that was the idea. I wanted it to look like the cartoony kiddy animation I did in 5th grade on index cards (flows a little better here, but you get the idea).

The comment about physics was funny to me, just because that's probably going to be my major. Part of what I love about animation is that you can BEND reality, and make it work however you want. But your desire for realism has been noted, and I'll keep it in mind.

The coloring bit - again, I hope you're talking about just the last bit, which represents my current animation, and not the index cards, because I had to work very, very hard to painstakingly scribble in colors, forsaking the paint bucket tool, to get that "not completely colored" look. I wanted it to seem like scribbled colored pencil.

Now, the "actual animation" comment. I'd actually really appreciate it if you would watch my last two movies (both are three minutes long) and let me know what you think of them, since they are "pure" animation. "Real World" is the one you are more likely to enjoy, based on your comments on coloring and physics. "End of the World" was stick figure animation, intentionally sketchy by using frame-by-frame, and is to date my most popular movie (not including this one's surprise success). I REALLY want to know what you think of that one, based on your "stray from sticks" comment.

Lastly, I actually wanted to THANK you. It's always nice to recieve a clear, well thought-out criticism, instead of just "U SUX" or variations thereof, because then you have something to work off of. So, while I'm sorry you didn't like the movie, I appreciate your taking the time to let me know what you thought was wrong about it.

Rated 5 / 5 stars2008-04-12 08:23:45

Amazing.

There may not be a word for something this great but the closest thing is Amazing. I guess everyone starts out drawing stick figures, and some of them continue doing it. (in other words, me -.-') This was in my favorites the moment I hit play.

Rated 5 / 5 stars2008-04-12 07:58:07

Love the concept

This isnt the best drawn or the best audio but the concept is so solid that it makes up for all of that. I like the idea of showing how animation has come from its humble beginnings as a carnival sideshow all the way to main stream movies and tv. Its the fact that you showed the world your dream is a great endeavor. Good Job and keep it up.